Let the Games Begin
by Xanadu-King
Summary: Ten years after Jaden Yuki leaves Duel Academy, six new students arrive. The adventures begin anew with these young students, in a place meant only for the best. (Teen for some language)


_Just so that everyone is clear, I don't own anything except for seven characters, who you will meet, and the decks they will use. But even then some of the cards are not of my creation _-_-

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><p>Chapter One<p>

It had been ten years since the events of Jaden Yuki and his friends. The Chancellor of Dueling Academy was looking out across the ocean at the boat bringing all of the new, and hopefully eager, students to Dueling Academy. While he was looking out of his office window there was a tap on the door.

"Yes, come in." A woman stepped through the door. She was dressed in the 'chief of police' uniform granted to her by the current Chancellor.

"Chancellor, I believe you should see this sir." She handed the Chancellor a record of one of the incoming students.

"Wow only two turns, this girl is impressive." The Chancellor handed the record back to the chief. "Although she is impressive, she still got Slifer red. I am not surprised. Few people get higher than Slifer red. Was there anything else?" The chief pulled out five other students.

"All of these students sir, they all got remarkable scores on their tests. Should we keep an eye out for them?" The Chancellor smiled brightly.

"No that wont be necessary, we have not had this much fun since we were just students here." The Chancellor winked at the chief causing her to blush slightly. "Just remember what I told you when I offered you this job Alexis, we are here to make sure that these students can make their way in the world." Alexis nodded and walked off. Once she left the Chancellor turned back to the ship and wondered what these new students would be like. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Alexis had come back in.

"By the way, don't forget our date night tonight Zane." Alexis reached up and kissed him on his cheek and walked away. _Yes, _Zane thought to himself, _this will be an interesting semester._

She sat with her back to the railing, knees pulled up to her chest, hat pulled down in front of her face. She didn't want to be seen by anyone. Hopefully people would get the message and just stay away from her. "Hi there!" A voice called out. _S_o _much for that hope._ She thought to herself.

"Hey." The boy said, giving her a goofy smile in the process. "My name is Michael. What's yours?" His clearly Scottish accent bled through in every word he spoke. His hair, although clearly cut short in the front, was a copper color that reflected the sun's light. It was pulled back into a short ponytail that helped to hide the fact that his hair was rather wavy. He was fair skinned with some light freckling on his cheeks. What attracted her the most though was his eyes, they were a deep emerald green.

"I'm Rachel." Rachel barely spoke in an audible tone. If he hadn't been listening Michael might have missed it entirely. Fortunately he was listening.

"Rachel... nice, it is a pretty name." This made her blush slightly, she had never been told that she had a pretty anything before. After hearing this she simply pulled her legs up tighter and tried to bury her face in them. "Ah- wait- I didn't mean, sorry. I know that might have come off as a little odd. I am a little socially awkward at times. I don't always know what will be seen as kind or hurtful. My bad." Michael rubbed the back of his head, still holding his goofy grin on his face. Rachel looked up slightly and saw that he was holding his hand out. "Can we try that again? Hi my name is Michael." His grin was even bigger than before. One thing that she hadn't noticed, that she clearly saw now, was the large scar that ran diagonally along his right hand.

"Idiot..." Rachel spoke under her breath. Standing up from the floor she came to her full height. Much to Michael's surprise she was a little taller than he was. Her black hair hung almost down to her waist. She was wearing the traditional Slifer red attire, although she had made some slight adjustments, her jacket was unbuttoned and underneath she wore a light blue tank top. Instead of the traditional jeans she wore a long maroon skirt with ruffles at the end. Michael was enamored the moment he set his eyes on her, but held back his desire to blurt that out. "Hello, my name is Rachel, Rachel Trumir. What is yours?"

Michael was so taken aback by her sudden change of character that he almost didn't notice the question. "Uh, Michael, Michael McNamara. So I see you got Slifer red. It looks like we will be in the same class then." Michael's goofy smile broadened with the knowledge that he would be in class with Rachel.

"Ugh, just my luck..." Rachel mumbled to herself.

"Hey, don't count me out yet. You have only just met me." Michael scoffed at her sudden disregard for him.

"You want me to respect you? I don't even know you. Fine, then you can earn some respect by dueling me." As she said this she pulled a deck of cards out of a pouch tied around her waist. Lifting up her duel disk, she slid her deck into the card reader, preparing for the battle to come.

"Whoa wait, I didn't mean to duel. I just wanted to get to know you." Michael threw his hands up in front of himself in a vain attempt to show her his lack of a desire to fight. That changed however as something shifted in him, his demeanor became much more serious and less relaxed. "But if you really want to, who am I to deny a lady." Michael smirked, but it was not cheerful smirk, it was dark, almost like he was relishing the chance to fight. Both of their life counters read 4000 as the battle commenced.

"Hmph... I'll go first." Rachel spoke as she activated her duel disk and drew six cards. "First I will activate the spell card Pod of Greed. I am sure you know what it does." Without giving him a second chance she drew the two cards from her deck. "Next I will set two cards and activate Cast Down! This little beauty works wonders for me. Allow me to show you. Next I will activate the card Double Summon. I can only activate one per turn, but that is all I will need. Next I summon Misericordiam - Angel of Mercy in attack mode!" Out of thin air an angel materialized in front of Rachel, her crimson wings in full spread. On her body she wore the armor of a warrior prepared for battle.

Michael looked at her monster perplexed. "You do know your creature has 0 attack and 0 defense correct?"

"Of course I know, what do I look like a fool?" Rachel scoffed at his statement. "Next I summon Bellius - Angel of War!" Next to her other angel appeared a new one, this time he was fully decked out in armor. From head to toe he was covered in gleaming steel. His wings, white as a cloud on a summer day, sprouted out of his back. His attack read 1800 with a defense of 1300.

"Now that is more like what I would have expected to see." Michael gave her a cocky smirk. "Is that all you have?" Michael stated expecting her to end her turn.

"Of course not." Rachel stated flatly. "Next I banish Misericordiam to special summon Fallen Angel – Zephon!" On cue, an angel cloaked in black descended from on high. His wings, forever stained in the color of night to symbolize his fallen status. The monster's attack read out to be 2400 with a defense of 2500. Michael for the first time looked on in awe, and was nearly left without words.

"Now that is impressive. And on your first turn no less. I can't wait to see what you pull out next. However since that was your last card can I assume you are done?" Rachel didn't say anything, merely nodded.

"Alright then it is my turn. I play the spell card Magical Mallet. Just in case you don't know, this allows me to shuffle any number of cards from my hand back into my deck, and then draw the same amount." Without hesitating Michael returned four cards to his deck, shuffled and drew four more. "Next I activate the field spell Kingdom of Paragons!" A few moments later they found themselves standing on a pristine lake that appeared like a mirror. In the background was a great city built up on spires. It spiraled upwards from the water's surface until it reached it's zenith where a great white palace stood. "Kingdom of Paragons is a special little card that makes it impossible for one of my monsters to be destroyed by it's own effect. Also if a Paragon monster happens to be destroyed by an effect I can search my deck for another Paragon who's level is equal to or one lower than that of the destroyed monster." Michael smirked darkly as a plan formulated in his mind. "Just to let you know, you are not the only one who can summon multiple creatures in one turn. Next I summon Paragon Caster!" The mirror lake beneath them began to shimmer slightly as a man, cloaked in all white, arose out of the lake. As soon as it fully appeared a couple of blades pierced his chest.

Rachel looked on in surprise. "Wait, what just happened?"

"Don't be so shocked, there are more interesting things to come. Next I summon from my graveyard Paragon Assassin!" Just as quickly as Michael called out his creature a thick fog rolled in from across the lake. Through the fog you could hear light drips of water hitting water. Suddenly, through the fog appeared a man, cloaked in black wielding a wicked looking scythe and a wrist dagger. "Meet my best Assassin. You see, if he is in my hand when I summon a light paragon monster I must discard him to destroy it. But don't worry, he repays his forced assassination with his services, and allowing me to destroy one monster on your side of the field. I choose your Zephon." Michael smirked at his successful plot. The Paragon Assassin vanished into the fog, only to reappear behind Fallen Angel – Zephon and stab him through the back and out the chest with his wrist dagger.

Rachel however did not look concerned. "Do you really think I didn't plan for this? You activated my trap card Drag Down! Whenever one of my monsters is destroyed by an effect I can destroy one monster you control along with it. And guess who I am choosing." Without giving Michael a moment to respond to her the Paragon Assassin exploded in a sudden inferno.

"Se la vi, but I am not even close to being done. You see, both of my Paragon creatures were destroyed by card effects, which means I can get two more. I select Paragon Merchant, and Paragon Warrior, and add them to my hand. Finally I will set two cards and end my turn." Michael let out a soft sigh, this girl was tougher than he imagined.

Rachel drew a card from her deck as she started her turn. "Since I can't do anything of import I move to the battle phase. Next I attack you directly. Go Bellius rend my foes with Angelic Slash!" Upon her command the creature drew a massive two handed great sword from behind it's back. Drawing it's arms upward it took one massive swing generating a beam of white light that it sent flying towards Michael.

"Is that the best you can do? I activate the trap card Magic Cylinder. Looks like you will be taking that damage not me." Michael smirked at the knowledge that he was one step closer to victory. The attack impacted causing a cloud of dust to rise up around her. As the dust settled Michael noticed that her life points were not lower, in fact they were higher. "What? How did?"

"Rainbow Light," she said as the card appeared next to her "it converts all damage I would take during the turn it is activated and turns it into life point gain. Didn't you pay attention?" Rachel never lost her cool demeanor. Through out the entire battle nothing about her seemed to change, she was just as impressive in battle as she was out. Michael couldn't help the fact that he was become more and more enamored with this woman he had just met. "Since my attack failed I will set one card and end my turn." Rachel stated flatly.

"Alright then, my turn. I summon Paragon Knight!" As he spoke a knight, clad in all white armor, jumped out of the duel disk and onto the field. "Paragon Knight has an interesting effect, when he is summoned to my side of the field you loose five hundred life points." Rachel watched as her life points dropped from 5800 to 5300. "Next I will activate the trap card Archaic Knowledge of the Paragons. This one is important so pay attention. This friend of mine makes it where every monster you control gets the effect 'Whenever a monster is summoned to either side of the field destroy this card'. Which in turn means that you will be loosing monsters left and right soon enough." Michael's smirk grew into an intense grin. "Now then I am going to kill that angel of yours. Knight, attack her Angel of War with Perfection Slash!" The knight drew his one handed long sword and charged at Bellius. Just as the blade was about to connect his creature's attack stopped. "Hmm, why did you stop?"

"Because he is afraid. I activate my trap card Decent of the Archangel! I can activate this card only when one of my 'Angel' monsters would be destroyed as a result of battle. I negate the attack and Special Summon one 'Archangel' from my extra deck. If my guess is correct you have nothing to stop me with." Rachel gave Michael a deadpan stare as he slowly nodded. "Good, then I summon Archangel Lucifer to my side of the field in face up attack position!" As she spoke a brilliantly radiant angel descended from the heavens. Carried aloft by six wings and with hair of shining light he came to rest next to his compatriot. As soon as he set foot on the field Bellius exploded in a brilliant radiance. "A necessary sacrifice for the greater good. I suppose it is my turn." Rachel said as she watched as her loyal angel died.

"Not quite Rachel, I still have a trick up my sleeve. Next I set one card and end my turn." Michael was starting to get nervous. The new monster she had just summoned had 3800 attack and 3300 defense. By this time a crowd had started to gather around them, something that Michael had not wanted.

Rachel drew her card and laughed. She laughed, something that Michael thought he would have to work to hear, and yet there she was laughing. It wasn't a loud laugh, more like a soft chuckle, but it was a laugh none the less. "I suppose I should say thank you, this has been more interesting than I anticipated. But now it is time to end this. Per the effect of my trap card I must now banish the monster I once saved." As she spoke the removed the monster from the graveyard and placed it back in her deck pouch. "Now to end this, I play the spell card Harpies Feather Duster, I know this is a bit of an old card, but just to remind you, it destroys every spell and trap card you control. That includes your Archaic Knowledge." As she spoke feathers began to drop from the sky each one sweeping away any cards in the spell and trap card zone. One even swept by the white city causing it to collapse into the lake, as though time had finally taken it's toll. "Since your field spell is gone, if I summon a monster now, yours will be destroyed will it not? Of course it will. Now I will exceed summon Fallen Angel Lucifer!" Upon completing those words her shining and beautiful Archangel Lucifer was consumed by dark fire, leaving behind a blackened and scared version of the original. Yet, in his darkened state, stronger, and more prepared for battle. Fallen Angel Lucifer registered at 4000 attack and 3600 defense. Michael was so engrossed in watching the rise of this new foe that he failed to notice his own monster as he was sewered through the heart by a spear made of light. "I am sorry Michael, but you just weren't good enough this time around. I attack with Fallen Angel Lucifer." With those words black flame erupted from Lucifer's fingertips as he shot it out towards Michael, dropping his life points down to zero. Rachel turned away from him and started to walk back to the railing.

Michael could only watch as he was beaten so throughly, he nearly collapsed, but didn't. Instead he held himself up high and started to laugh. So much so that Rachel turned back to see if he was okay. "Wow, what a duel. I have never fought with someone so skilled as you. Why are you in Slifer red? With your skill you could easily be in Obelisk blue."

Rachel was taken aback at this, no one ever questioned why, they just saw the jacket and assumed. "Because I chose to be, I didn't want to be in the excessive pomp of Obelisk and I can't stand the brainy nerds of Ra, so Slifer was my only option."

"Really, so you picked Slifer? Didn't know you could do that." Michael sat down on the deck as the crowd dissipated.

"You can only choose to be in a certain class if you score high enough." Rachel retorted.

"Hmm, well, it will be a pleasure to have you in Slifer red this semester." Michael put out his hand again to shake hers. This time she grabbed it.

"Agreed, and you have my respect for putting up such a strong fight. I think this will be an interesting year." Rachel said as she looked out at the fast approaching Dueling Academy. "An interesting year indeed."

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><p><em>Wow, what a chapter. Hello all, I feel like I need to apologize. I have been working on the second part to my Lord of the RingsTroy cross over. Unfortunately it is coming along very slowly. However I had a few other Fanfiction stories in the works so I decided to finish the first chapter of this one. It will be dealing with six students, and their adventures in Dueling Academy, obviously taking place after the Jaden Yuki series. But who knows, some of the original characters might make a cameo appearance. So as always leave a like/comment. I am open to criticism._


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